Spy (2015) - ★★★★

Director: Paul Feig

Writer: Paul Feig

Stars: Melissa McCarthy, Rose Byrne, Jude Law, Jason Statham, Miranda Hart, Bobby Cannavale, Peter Serafinowicz

Spy is a damn hilarious film. Not everyone can identify with Melissa McCarthy's humour, but I sure can. The way she improvs her lines gives the legends of cinematic comedy a run for their money.

It's a star studded, action-packed entertainment extravaganza that surprisingly won favour with many critics the world over. Is it one of the greatest comedies of all time? No. However, it manages to deliver the laughs in both clever and crass ways.

This is the kind of film I could watch about 10 times and still laugh. I'm going to give Paul Feig a big thumbs up and say, "you outdid Bridesmaids." 

Hugo (2011) - ★★★★

Director: Martin Scorsese
Writers: John Logan (Screenplay), Brian Selznick (Book)
Stars: Asa Butterfield, Ben Kingsley, Chloe Grace Moretz, Sacha Baron Cohen, Helen McCrory, Christopher Lee, Emily Mortimer, Ray Winstone, Richard Griffiths, Frances de la Tour, Jude Law

Martin Scorsese is one of the greatest directors of all time, and Hugo happens to be one of his most ambitious films. He usually deals with gangsters and crime, but Hugo is his little homage to the very first films, from 'Arrival of a Train' by the Lumiere Brothers, to 'A Trip to the Moon' by George Méliès. It's one of the most visually beautiful films I've ever seen, and it also evokes the magic out of life's little adventures, whether they be from reading a book or watching a movie. It runs a little too long and the pace is too slow for my liking, but Hugo is captivating enough to be called one of the best movies of 2011.

Bent (1997) - ★★★½

Director: Sean Mathias
Writers: Martin Sherman (Screenplay and Play)
Stars: Clive Owen, Lothaire Bluteau, Brian Webber, Mick Jagger, Ian McKellen, Rupert Graves, Jude Law, Paul Bettany

I look back on Bent with a heavy heart. I'm sadder now than I was at the end of this movie. That's because the thought of the story is sadder than the actual movie itself. For the most part, it's a highly effective and powerful film that shows us the struggles of homosexuals in a Nazi-run Berlin. Then it sort of degenerates into an unconvincing ending, which left me wanting more. Even though the movie isn't fantastic, I will never forget it.

Road to Perdition (2002) - ★★★★★

Director: Sam Mendes
Writers: David Self (Screenplay), Max Allan Collins, Richard Piers Rayner (Graphic Novel)
Stars: Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Daniel Craig, Jude Law, Tyler Hoechlin

I loved Road to Perdition. It is dark yet sensitive, thrilling yet utterly beautiful. I was in awe of how smoothly the story unfurled. What had me more surprised was how emotional I was when it finished. The performances are masterful, the music is among the most beautiful scores I've ever heard, the cinematography submerses you into the 1930s, and this film is nothing short of perfect. When people ask me if Road to Perdition is a good film, I'll always give them the same answer. I'll just tell them... it's a masterpiece.

Anna Karenina (2012) - ★★★½

Director: Joe Wright
Writers: Leo Tolstoy (Novel), Tom Stoppard (Screenplay)
Stars: Keira Knightley, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jude Law, Matthew Macfadyen, Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander

Joe Wright has taken many classic novels and put them to film, such as Pride and Prejudice and Atonement. He goes one step further in Anna Karenina. He has made a daring choice to tell the story as if it were being enacted by players on a stage. It was a bold and brilliant move for Tolstoy's novel has been told many times over, but never in a fashion such as this. Although the emotions were there, the story itself was overshadowed by the sheer perfection that was the costume, music and cinematography.